Other Notable Deaths

OTHER NOTABLE DEATHS

June 29, 2006

William A. Shurcliff, 97, a physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb and went on to play an outspoken role in defeating plans for a supersonic passenger plane in the 1960s and the Star Wars anti-missile defense system in the '80s, died June 20 in Cambridge, Mass.

At his death, Dr. Shurcliff was working on a new method of insulating houses, said a granddaughter, Elizabeth Shurcliff.

Arif Mardin, 72, a Grammy Award-winning producer who worked with stars including Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan and Norah Jones, died of pancreatic cancer Sunday at his home in New York City.

Born in Turkey, Mr. Mardin came to the United States in 1958 after a meeting with Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones persuaded him to make music his career. He graduated in 1961 from the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Mr. Mardin started working at Atlantic Records in 1963, and ultimately became a senior vice president. He left in 2001 and started working at the restarted Manhattan Records label later that year. He retired in 2004.